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Talent Agency NS ENM, Home to Go Hyun-jung and Ku Hye-sun, Adds Livestock and Construction Materials to Business Objectives

[비즈한국] Entertainment agency NS ENM035760 (formerly IOK Company) is showing signs of venturing into new business areas. NS ENM represents famous celebrities such as actors Go Hyun-jung and Ku Hye-sun. NS ENM was formerly an affiliate of the Ssangbangwool102280 Group. However, since Nature Republic acquired Ssangbangwool early this year, the Ssangbangwool Group has effectively dissolved. Former affiliates like NS ENM have set out to navigate their own paths.

On May 30, NS ENM held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders and added the following to its business objectives: wholesale and retail of meat, wholesale and retail of processed meat products, distribution of livestock products, wholesale and retail of construction materials, and manufacturing related to construction materials. The company stated the reason as business expansion. Currently, NS ENM is focused on entertainment-related businesses. While it operates an acting academy through its subsidiary IOK Academy, this is also part of its entertainment operations.

In fact, not only NS ENM but many other entertainment companies are showing interest in business expansion. For instance, YG Entertainment122870 has entered management consulting and finance through its subsidiary YG Investment, and HYBE is conducting business related to games and artificial intelligence (AI).

NS ENM was an affiliate of the Ssangbangwool Group. The governance structure of NS ENM flowed from Ssangbangwool → VIVIEN002070 → Dimoa016360 → NS ENM. However, with Nature Republic acquiring Ssangbangwool earlier this year, the Ssangbangwool Group declared its dissolution. The existing affiliates announced that they would pursue independent management. In February, the Ssangbangwool Group stated, "Each company will find its own path forward." Ssangbangwool has delegated its voting rights in VIVIEN shares to the VIVIEN board of directors. Therefore, the addition of business objectives by NS ENM can be viewed as an independent measure unrelated to Nature Republic or Ssangbangwool.

It is uncertain whether NS ENM's business expansion will be successful. Larger companies like YG Entertainment and HYBE have yet to achieve significant results in their new ventures. Furthermore, NS ENM recorded losses in its core business. In the first quarter of this year, it posted 3.8 billion KRW in revenue and an operating loss of 2.1 billion KRW. With the Ssangbangwool Group dissolved, it is difficult to expect support from affiliates. In other words, the company does not have much room to invest in new businesses.

At the extraordinary shareholders' meeting in May, along with adding business objectives, NS ENM attempted to appoint three outside directors: Chung Dae-chul, Chairman of the Heonjeonghoe (National Convention of Former Lawmakers); Yang Jung-moo, a distinguished professor at Kunsan National University; and Jay Kim, a former U.S. Congressman. Among them, the most notable figure is Chairman Chung Dae-chul. He is the son of the late Dr. Chung Il-hyung, the father of former Democratic Party lawmaker Chung Ho-jun, and is known as a close associate of the late former President Kim Dae-jung. As a result of the meeting, the proposals to appoint Chairman Chung Dae-chul and Professor Yang Jung-moo were rejected, and only former Congressman Jay Kim was appointed.

BizHankook reached out to NS ENM through various channels to obtain a comment regarding this matter, but did not receive a response.